Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, Málaga, Spain.
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, Málaga, Spain.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;36(6):935-942. doi: 10.1002/gps.5496. Epub 2021 Feb 1.
Early diagnosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is crucial in order to implement new therapeutic strategies. The retina is embryologically related to the brain. Thus, the possible usefulness of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the early detection of AD is currently being studied. Our aim was to study the relationship between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and AD.
We undertook an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study with consecutive sampling of 32 patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment and a group of healthy controls (C). The total number of eyes studied was 64. An ophthalmological and a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation were performed in all participants. Quantification of white matter lesions and study of atrophy of the hippocampus by cerebral magnetic resonance were also performed.
We observed a significant linear trend towards a thinning of RNFL as the degree of cognitive deterioration increased, in the superior and temporal quadrants of the retina. A significant correlation was also noted between the mean thickness of the RNFL of the left temporal quadrant and occipital white matter lesions (r = -0.579, p = 0.038).
OCT could be a safe, rapid noninvasive tool providing useful biomarkers in the early detection of cognitive deterioration and AD.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）的早期诊断至关重要，以便实施新的治疗策略。视网膜在胚胎学上与大脑有关。因此，光学相干断层扫描（OCT）在 AD 早期检测中的可能用途目前正在研究中。我们的目的是研究视网膜神经纤维层（RNFL）厚度与 AD 之间的关系。
我们进行了一项观察性、分析性、横断面研究，对 32 名 AD 或轻度认知障碍患者和一组健康对照组（C）进行了连续抽样。共研究了 64 只眼。所有参与者均进行了眼科和全面的神经心理学评估。还对脑磁共振成像的脑白质病变和海马体萎缩进行了量化。
我们观察到，随着认知恶化程度的增加，视网膜的上象限和颞象限的 RNFL 厚度呈显著的线性趋势变薄。还注意到左侧颞象限的 RNFL 平均厚度与枕叶脑白质病变之间存在显著相关性（r=-0.579，p=0.038）。
OCT 可能是一种安全、快速的非侵入性工具，可提供有用的生物标志物，用于早期检测认知功能恶化和 AD。
